Zohran Mamdani could leave his Assembly seat open next year. Mary Jobaida is preparing to run for it.

The longest game of musical chairs is still being played in New York politics. And Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and front-runner in New York City’s mayoral race, may leave the next empty seat. 

Mary Jobaida, who ran unsuccessfully in a neighboring Queens Assembly district in 2020, filed with the state Board of Elections on Monday to run in District 36, which Mamdani currently represents. So far, she’s the only candidate who has registered with the state BOE in the Astoria district.

Mamdani’s chances of leaving the Assembly seat open seem strong. Despite his upset of the Democratic establishment in the mayoral primary last month, fixtures of that establishment have started to coalesce around him. His competition – including independent candidates ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams, and Republican Curtis Sliwa – doesn’t lack for enthusiasm but does lack for a strategy to avoid splitting the anti-Mamdani vote.

If Mamdani leaves his seat vacant, there will be a special election in which the Democratic nominee will be selected by the Queens County Democratic Party, followed by a regularly scheduled primary and general election in 2026. As City & State previously reported, a special election could give the more moderate county party leaders a foothold in the lefty district.

Jobaida ran against Assembly Member Cathy Nolan in 2020, losing to her by roughly 1,500 votes in the Democratic primary. She briefly ran for the seat again the following cycle.

Jobaida is an immigrant from Bangladesh – part of a growing community in the city and one that turned out in force for Mamdani in the primary. She could not immediately be reached for an interview on Monday evening. According to her campaign website, Jobaida supports mainstay progressive issues including universal child care and free CUNY and SUNY.